Living happily with food restrictions

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I love to travel. I love seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and meeting new people. I dread eating when I travel.

I recently was in New Orleans for a conference (also why I missed posting for a while). In preparation I sent my list of dietary restrictions to the event coordinator and even provided my cell phone number in case the chef wanted to talk to me. I received an email saying everything was taken care of. I briefly doubted but put my fears aside. They had my list and instructions. I had specifically put it together after the last conference I attended, back in November. Maybe the instructions were clear and no other information was needed.

The first day of the conference I showed up for breakfast and the protein dish was mushroom omelets. Mushrooms, a big no on my list so that was out, but they had a selection of cereals, 2% and nonfat milk and a large selection of fresh fruit. I was in heaven. I could work with this as long as I got protein at lunch. I also had an apple sauce squeeze pouch as a mid-morning snack (I packed enough for two per day in my suitcase just in case).

Lunch came and I got in line. When I got to the front I handed the catering staff person my lunch ticket with the word “Special” printed below my name. Cool, I’m special, but then my family and friends have known that for years. But they don’t always say it like it’s a good thing. Anyway, I was asked to wait to the side while someone went to the kitchen. A couple of minutes later a plate was handed to me. I looked at three large white cubes of tofu on a bed of some kind of grain and a pile of squash on the side. I called the server back and asked what he had just handed me and was told it was the vegetarian plate. I shook my head and said I can’t eat squash or tofu. He then asked if I wanted the gluten-free or the nut-free meal.

Apparently they had three types of “Special” meals and guessed at which one I should get. All three had squash as the vegetable side, and the gluten-free and nut-free had chicken in a mushroom sauce. I couldn’t eat anything being served. I located the event coordinator and explained what was happening. She apologized and told me she had forwarded my email to the head of catering. I waited while she went and talked to the chef, who she returned with about 5 minutes later.

The chef had never received my email and I had just been listed as special without any explanation. After about ten minutes of explaining my food restrictions he told me he would have something for me each day. He also suggested I could start with the salad on the buffet while he prepared my meal. I joined my friends, who were almost done eating by now, and munched on my salad. My friends finished eating and one by one excused themselves to go find their next session. My meal arrived, which was hot a delicious, and I quickly scarfed it down alone. I wasn’t feeling so special as I finished eating while the staff cleared the tables around me. I slipped into my next session late.